Tee Higgins and the Cincinnati Bengals faced off against the Minnesota Vikings this past week and even though both starting quarterbacks, Joe Burrow and Kirk Cousins were missing for each team, the game was one of the most entertaining we have had all season. The game went back and forth, each team trading blows, but both refused to let up. Then, in the fourth quarter, Tee Higgins made possibly the catch of the year to tie the game up and send it to over time.
The Bengals would go on to win the game in overtime with a game winning kick from Evan McPherson. Boasting an impressive 8-6 record, the Bengals are still in position to sneak into the playoffs without their franchise quarterback at the helm. What’s more impressive, is that stud wide out Ja’Marr Chase left the game early due to injury. Higgins just took over from there for the Bengal’s offense.
While the Bengals have looked impressive without Joe Burrow it would be quite the shock if they made any noise in the playoffs. And looking ahead to next year things may look very different, especially for Higgins. He is set to enter free agency and should attract many suitors to go after him as he has consistently proven he can be a number 1 receiver on many teams in the NFL.
Possibly the best one two punch combo at the receiver position in the league, it doesn’t seem feasible that the Bengals will be able to keep both Chase and Higgins, especially after emptying the bank for the super star quarterback. Assuming that they will also give Chase a huge contract that leaves Higgins to accept less money if he were to stay in Cincinnati. Higgins is not expected to take less money and going to go ahead and test the market in free agency where one team could get a huge addition at receiver.
In a recent article from ESPN, writers Ben Baby and Kevin Seifert gushed about Higgins late game heroics saying:
” Tee Higgins might have saved Cincinnati’s playoff hopes. With less than a minute left in regulation, Higgins caught a 21-yard pass from Browning that was essentially a jump ball.”
Higgins has definitely displayed his talents over the last few seasons as being a legitimate wide receiver one, and he deserves to be paid like one too. It would be quite shocking if he takes a pay cut to stick it out with the Bengals, but being that they are real contenders every year it wouldn’t be the craziest thing in the world. If he were to leave, expect many teams to be in the hunt for him and having someone like him on the roster completely changes the entire offense.
We will have to wait and see how it all unfolds, and if Chase can’t play for the next few weeks, Higgins will continue to show of his talents as the number one option for the Bengals going forward. Other teams will definitely keep a close eye on how that situation unfolds for the rest of the year.
